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Last 4 Years Survey Reports

2015 Survey Report

REPORT TO PATIENT REFERENCE GROUP: MARCH 2015

DEVELOPMENT OF GROUP

The group was started in 2011 and in March 2012 had 29 members. By March 2013 this had grown to 60 and 63 in 2014. It now numbers 64 and we thank all those who have joined in. We will always welcome any patient who wishes to have a say in the way that the practice interacts with its patients and helps to shape the way we meet your needs.

COMPARISON OF THE TWO TABLES TO SHOW HOW PATIENT REFERENCE GROUP [PRG] IS REPRESENTATIVE OF PRACTICE POPULATION

AGE

PRACTICE

PRG

GENDER

PRACTICE

PRG

ETHNICITY

PRACTICE

PRG

Under 18

19.5%

0%

Male

50.5%

40.63%

White British

19.5

95%

18 to 24

8.1%

3.1%

Female

49.5%

59.37%

Other

5%

25 to 34

11.3%

4.7%

35 to 44

12.2%

12.5%

45 to 54

16%

28.13%

55 to 64

12.4%

23.34%

65 to 74

10.5%

17.19%

75 to 84

6.8%

10.94%

Over 85

3.2%

0%

ACTIONS FOLLOWING THE 2014 SURVEY

Following the 2014 survey, it was agreed that we should look to improve our telephone answering times and reduce our wasted appointments through non-attendance.

We have recruited additional staff and they are now fully trained in all areas of reception and we have started to reduce our telephone answering times. We hope and intend to continue this improvement and we are presently looking at different ways we might free up staff to answer phones at the peak times of the day. We have also looked at the time taken on each call and are basing our staff training on the results of that survey.

We have started to publish our numbers of non-attenders behind the reception desk and follow up on those patients to try to understand why they did not attend. We also send text messages where we have a mobile number on the day prior to the appointment and ask patients to let us know on our dedicated cancellation line should they no longer want the appointment. We would like to reduce these wasted appointments further and are looking at what measures we can introduce to achieve this.

2015

We have avoided doing the same old survey this year as we now have the friends and family test results which asks patients to name the one thing they would like to change at the surgery. We see this as a more open way of reviewing how patients feel about the running of the practice. We have therefore looked at all the comments left and have come up with the following results:

Patients would like appointments with the nurses to be bookable on-line as they are now for the doctors. This is actually more complex than it sounds because different types of appointments (eg dressings, blood tests, female health and diabetes) all have different clinics with different lengths of time slots.

Internet reporting of results. Both this and 1 above would require changes to our clinical system and we are working with the system providers to see how we might make this possible.

The new online prescription system. This has had some teething problems but we had no choice but to move over to it and we are working hard to make it as simple as possible to use.

Telephone answering. This is clearly still an issue and we are working to improve it as described above.

Longer appointments for those patients with complex health issues. We have introduced these and they are now available but have to be booked through the reception team and are not yet available on line. Again, we are working with the system providers to see if it is something we can introduce in the future.

We also want to add something this year. I am sure that all patients who watch television, listen to the radio or read a newspaper will have heard how A and E Departments in hospitals have been overwhelmed in the last six months. We want patients to be directed to the most appropriate service to get the treatment they need so we have produced a poster to illustrate this. There is a copy on our website on the front page called “Who should I call”. We are hoping that patients will copy it and keep it handy and indeed put it up wherever they think it might be helpful. We have shared it with the other Chippenham practices and have added it to our practice booklet.

We also want our patients to know we run a triage system so that any patient that has a need to see a clinician the same day can ring us and get a same day appointment. This has been available for many years and we are hoping that it is not our patients who are attending A and E or the minor injuries unit in Chippenham Community Hospital inappropriately.

Change in the NHS has not slowed down this year and doubtless there are many more changes ahead. Please be assured we are all working very hard to give the best service possible to our patients and we will continue to do so.

We are aware that we cannot please all the people all the time and we know it is annoying when a doctor is running late for an appointment. However, we have no idea what ailments patients are going to arrive with and how long each consultation will need. Next time it could be your consultation that overruns and we ask for your understanding when our other patients have this need.

Thank you to all our patients who took the time to complete the friends and family cards and particularly to those in the PPG who help us improve our services.

Thank you also to the patients who take the trouble to contact us with comments, criticism, compliments and suggestions. We welcome them all and they do make a difference. Please continue to pass them on to us.

Kind regards

Jim Milner

Practice Manager

REPORT TO PATIENT REFERENCE GROUP: MARCH 2014

DEVELOPMENT OF GROUP

The group was started in 2011 and in March 2012 had 29 members. By March 2013 this had grown to 60. It now numbers 63 and we thank all those who have joined in. We will always welcome any patient who wishes to have a say in the way that the practice interacts with its patients and helps to shape the way we meet your needs.

COMPARISON OF THE TWO TABLES TO SHOW HOW PATIENT REFERENCE GROUP [PRG] IS REPRESENTATIVE OF PRACTICE POPULATION

AGE

GENDER

ETHNICITY

Practice

PRG

Practice

PRG

Practice

PRG

Under 65

79.7%

71.5%

Male

50.4%

41%

White British

87%

97%

65 to 74

10.5%

19%

Female

49.6%

59%

Other

13%

3%

Over 75

9.8%

9.5%

TOTAL

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

ACTIONS FOLLOWING THE 2013 SURVEY

Following the 2013 survey, it was agreed that we should provide more information for patients to better understand their ailments and, in particular, long-term conditions. The notice boards are now in place and we are in the process of populating them. This has taken much longer than we hoped and was a much longer job than we anticipated because we had so much information that had become out of date because of all the changes in the NHS.

This year has seen more changes in the NHS than anyone can remember and this has caused much additional work behind the scenes. We had a new clinical computer system installed at the tail end of 2012 and that has brought many new ways of working that have taken some time to bed in. We also now have a system by which prescriptions can be sent to your chosen pharmacy electronically.

In 2013 we recognised that one of our biggest issues was our phone system and we have now invested in a new phone system and additional staff who are in training and, in the coming weeks and months, we anticipate that patients will start to find it easier to get through at peak times.

We are also doing all we can to enable patients to book appointments with their GP on line and this can now be done via the website. To access this, you will need a password. Just follow the instructions on the website or ask at reception next time you are in the surgery.

We have set out below a comparison of some of the main results of the survey showing the difference between 2013 and 2014.

RECEPTION STAFF

2013

2014

Helpful or very helpful

91%

94%

SEEING A GP URGENTLY – SAME DAY APPOINTMENT

2013

2014

Yes

54%

58%

No

22%

18%

Don’t know, never needed to

23%

22%

No response

0%

2%

HOW EASY IS IT TO BOOK AHEAD

2013

2014

Fairly easy or very easy

77%

79%

Not very easy

12%

11%

OVERALL EXPERIENCE

2013

2014

Excellent

23%

41%

Very good

42%

39%

Good

23%

11%

Fair

7%

5%

Poor

1%

1%

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND ROWDEN SURGERY TO OTHERS

2013

2014

Yes, definitely

54%

65%

Yes, probably

31%

27%

No, probably

6%

3%

No, definitely

0%

1%

Don’t know

6%

1%

The full survey results are on the website. Please feel free to peruse these and let us have any comments you wish to make.

We are aware that we cannot please all the people all the time and we know it is annoying when a doctor is running late for an appointment. However, we have no idea what ailments patients are going to arrive with and how long each consultation will need. Next time it could be your consultation that overruns and we ask for your understanding when our other patients have this need.

One thing we have started in the last few weeks is to publish the number of patients who kept their appointments and the others who failed to attend without letting us know. Each year, between 2,500 and 3,500 appointments are wasted through non-attendance without cancelling and, if we could reduce this by half, we could arrange your appointment with your GP or nurse much sooner. Thank you to all the vast majority who do attend and let us know when they cannot and a plea to the non-attenders to call our 24-hour cancellation line on 01249 460641.

So, in summary, our aim this year is to improve our telephone answering times and reduce our wasted appointments through non-attendance.

Thank you to all our patients who took the time to complete the survey and particularly to those in the PPG who help us improve our services.

Thank you also to the patients who take the trouble to contact us with comments, criticism, compliments and suggestions. We welcome them all and they do make a difference. Please continue to pass them on to us.

Kind regards

Jim Milner

Practice Manager

REPORT TO PATIENT REFERENCE GROUP: MARCH 2013

DEVELOPMENT OF GROUP

Last year was the first year the group had been formed.

We invited patients to join and recruited 29 of you to what was a “virtual” group. Many thanks to those pioneers who helped us by joining up at the start.

The group is now 60 strong and thank you to those new members who have been interested sufficiently to join in. We will always welcome any patient who wishes to have a say in the way the practice interacts with its patients and the way we meet your needs.

COMPARISON OF THE TWO TABLES TO SHOW HOW PATIENT REFERENCE GROUP (PRG) IS REPRESENTATIVE OF PRACTICE POPULATION

AGE

GENDER

ETHNICITY

Practice

PRG

Practice

PRG

Practice

PRG

Under 65

80%

68%

Male

49%

45%

White British

94%

95%

65 to 74

10%

23%

Female

51%

55%

Other

6%

5%

75 +

10%

9%

2012 SURVEY RESULTS

Last year’s survey showed us that, in the main you thought that the entry and cleanliness was acceptable, our receptionists were helpful, and the main issue was confidentiality.

ACTIONS FOLLOWING 2012 SURVEY

We took the confidentiality issue on board and have acted upon it. We have moved all our patient records upstairs. These were previously in the reception administration area behind the wall at the back of the front desk. This has freed up sufficient space for us to build a small room for use by patients who would like to discuss confidential issues face to face with a receptionist.

In addition we realised that our reception team taking telephone calls can also be overheard at the front desk, particularly if they are talking to a patient who is a little hard of hearing. We are in the process of making alterations to alleviate this problem too.

Organising these measures has taken some time because we have had to find space upstairs for all the paper records of our patients which we use less because of our new clinical computer system but when we do need them they need to be easily accessible. We expect to complete all building work in the next three weeks or so and we hope that we have met patients’ needs with these measures.

2013 SURVEY RESULTS

This year’s survey was a little less clear cut. You would like to be able to book a little further ahead and we will address that. At the end of the survey we asked for your comments and a high percentage of the 200 or so patients that commented would like to have more information available to help inform them of how to manage their ailment and availability of services to assist them with coping with a long term health issue, etc etc.

We have therefore decided the next step for us should be to totally re-organise our waiting rooms with more and better notice boards with themes so that patients can find what they are looking for quickly and easily. If you agree that should be our priority we can have these in place in the next couple of months and would welcome your agreement and/or comments. If you think we should do something else we would welcome your suggestions but we need to follow the survey for the main thrust of our efforts in the coming year. We are always open to suggestion to improve the service we provide to our patients and to that end we are investigating the possibility of purchasing a new telephone system to better manage patient calls.

Following the survey 100% of the patient group who responded agreed with our action plan. We will therefore be implementing our changes over the next few months.

OUR PLEA TO YOU AND ALL PATIENTS

One of the biggest things that all our patients can do for us is to use our cancellation line when they cannot attend for an appointment. Our “did not attend” numbers in the last year range from 53 to 95 per week. This means that, on average, every week we have the equivalent of three GP sessions totally empty because patients fail to let us know they will not be attending. Even if it is only two hours in advance of the appointment we can probably fill it. This has a big knock on effect on the patients waiting for an appointment. They could all be seen quicker if this number was less or even, in a dream world, it was nil. This would enable us to significantly improve our availability to you and all our patients. In future we propose to publish the number of patients that fail to attend for an appointment in the waiting room.

THANK YOU

Thank you to all our Patient Reference Group for helping us to improve our services. We collected more surveys than last year (277 this year and 233 in 2012) and most had added comments at the end which have helped us to help you with more improvements for this year.

Thank you to all patients who took the time to complete the survey and to those who have contacted us during the past year with comments, criticisms, compliments and suggestions. All are very welcome and they do make a difference to our thinking. Please keep them coming.

THE LAST WORD

Finally, thank you to all those patients that I have met or spoken to since I joined the practice late last year for your patience and understanding whist I have got to grips with the job having taken over from Gill Massey as practice manager at Rowden Surgery. It has been a learning curve for me and will continue to be so with all the changes in the NHS which are taking place as you read this report.

Jim Milner

Practice Manager

REPORT TO PATIENTS: MARCH 2012

DEVELOPING A PATIENT REFERENCE GROUP

1. Knowing the Population

Setting up a Reference Group for the first time has been an enlightening experience. Having decided that we needed to walk before we could run, we concentrated on identifying the age, gender and ethnicity profile of our patient population in the first instance.

AGE

Numbers

%

Gender

Numbers

%

Ethnicity

Numbers

%

<65

12845

80.9

Male

8015

50.5

British/Irish

2285

93.3

65-74

1550

9.8

Female

7865

49.5

Black

54

2.2

75+

1485

9.4

Asian

60

2.5

Total

15880

Mixed

18

0.7

Chinese & Other

31

1.3

Total

2448

100.0

The practice has a current population of 15,880 patients, for all of whom we have age and gender recorded, but the data on ethnicity has only been collected on new patients over the last four or so years; we have had to trust that this data gives a reflection of the demographics across the total population in the absence of any other means of verification at this time.

2. Recruiting the PRG

Rowden decided that we should have a virtual group in the first instance. An appeal went out on the website, was mentioned on all on-line forms, in bulletins, newsletters, posters in the surgery and via email where appropriate. Clinicians and other staff have been encouraging patients to consider joining our group as well. We have set up a Facebook page, but this is in its infancy – it is hoped to attract some of our younger population in this way, but could do with the younger patients to help get it going!!

3. Comparing the PRG with the Population Profile

Currently the group has a membership of 29 patients. Given our large population, this is rather fewer than we would like if we are to work effectively; as news of the group grows and the advertising campaign continues, it is expected that the PRG will develop in size and variation.

AGE

Number

AGE

%

Gender

%

Ethnicity

%

Attendance

%

<65

17

17

61

Male

50

British

96

Regular

36

65-74

9

9

32

Female

50

White other

4

Occasional

53

75+

2

2

7

Rare

11

Our gender representation is in alignment with the practice population profile and we are pleased that the age bands, whilst dissimilar, are weighted in the right way; as the Facebook campaign develops we hope to increase our younger membership. The disappointment is that we have not yet managed to engage adequately with our ethnic minority groups, but this is a work in progress and we hope to use the current group to assist us in the means of attracting other groups.

4. Representation from all areas of the community

Aside from our current target of mimicking the practice profile in respect of age, gender and ethnicity, we are aware of other groups that should be represented within our PRG; carers and disabled patients spring to mind in particular. These groups will be the next to be targeted as we become further established and experienced.

PATIENT SURVEY AND AREAS OF PRIORITY

Designing the survey

The PRG members had agreed in general that email was a preferred means of communication. They were therefore contacted by email to determine the areas that they felt should be prioritised for the survey.

Our PRG responses were timely, wide ranging and very helpful. The ideas suggested were grouped into priority topics, namely premises (access and cleanliness), reception staff and waiting times. This fitted in well with comments that had been received from both staff and patients attending the surgery over the course of recent times.

Following advice from some members of the PRG, who offered views on setting questionnaires having had experience in this, it was decided to keep the questions simple and direct for this initial survey to establish foundations for further investigation in the future.

Carrying out the survey

The survey was published on the website; this could either be downloaded and returned to the practice via email, post or directly to reception or completed on-line. Paper versions were made available in the surgery, with a box at reception for returns. In order to try to get as good a cross-section of the community, questionnaires were handed to patients in clinics as well as in reception. It was hoped in this way to get the views of some of our younger patients, attending travel or female health clinics, as an example.

DISCUSSION OF THE SURVEY FINDINGS WITH THE PRG

The results of the survey were fed into a survey analysis tool, which collated the results in tables and charts. These have been published on the website and in the surgery.

An action plan was written following the results analysis. This and the survey findings were emailed to the PRG for their views and comments. The plan was amended, where possible, accordingly.

Some of the views and ideas of the PRG could, unfortunately, not be taken forward at this juncture due to lack of financial funding at the current time. However, these thoughts have been recorded for action in time and the PRG informed of same.

SURVEY RESULTS

The results of our survey may also be viewed on the 'survey results' tab on the website - this gives both tabular and diagramatice breakdown of the results and in colour!!

SUMMARY OF RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS

Respondent gender

Male: 42%

Female: 56%

Respondent age

25-64: 52%

65-74: 21%

75+: 19%

Respondent ethnicity

White British: 95%

Other: 2%

Respondent attendance at surgery

Regularly: 36%

Occasionally: 52%

Rarely: 10%

We were very pleased with the balance of respondent gender, age and attendance, which we felt lent authenticity to the statistics of the survey; however, it was disappointing that the ethnicity was essentially only white British as it would have been useful to have the views of minority groups as well.

SUMMARY OF SURVEY RESULTS

There were 233 respondents to the survey

How easy to you find getting into the surgery?

Very easy:

81%

Fairly easy:

16%

Not very easy:

2%

Not at all easy:

0%

How clean is the surgery?

Very clean:

74%

Fairly clean:

24%

Not very clean:

0%

Not at all clean: 0%

Reception - can other patients overhear what you say to receptionists?

Yes but don't mind:

75%

Yes and not happy:

18%

No, other patients can't overhear:

3%

Don't know:

3%

How helpful do you find the receptionists?

Very:

69%

Fairly:

27%

Not very:

2%

Not at all:

0%

How long after your appointment time do you wait to be seen?

No specific appointment time: 3%

Normally seen on time:

29%

5-10 minutes:

60%

15-30 minutes:

4%

How do you feel about how long you normally have to wait?

Don't have to wait too long:

86%

Have to wait a bit too long:

6%

Have to wait far too long:

0%

Doesn't apply:

4%

ACTION PLAN

1. Ease of access to the surgery

It is believed that access to the main building is good, but moving within the building may be more challenging. There are a number of doors off Waiting Room A and Waiting Room B is in the new extension, which is some distance from the main door – this may be particularly difficult for the disabled, infirm or patients with children.

In the first instance it is proposed to:

Ensure Waiting Room A is kept clear of clutter routinely – this will be added to the evening staff duties

Routinely tidy and remove notices – a team to be responsible, with a view to also planning areas for particular campaigns or issues

Improve labelling to the consulting rooms and the second waiting room – we have recently renumbered the rooms, but this has not proved to be the solution we had hoped; ideas will be sought and trialled

Cost automated doors for the main entrance; this is likely to be too expensive at the current time, but would give a target to work towards

2. Cleanliness of the surgery

The premises in general are beginning to look tired, which contributes to the lack of apparent cleanliness.

In the first instance it is proposed to:

Identify the areas deemed most ‘unclean’

Work with the cleaning company to ensure these areas are properly cleaned

Identify areas that are in most need of refurbishment

Carry out refurbishment as may be afforded at this stage

Consider ways to make the surgery more welcoming; several ideas have been received for consideration.

3. Confidentiality at reception

Whilst the majority of patients questioned stated that they did not mind that other patients could overhear their conversations, this is a situation with which the surgery is both aware and not happy; the 18% of patients who were not happy is also too high in our view. Currently it is not possible to re-design the reception area per se, but in the interim:

Educate patients to state that they wish their conversation to be held away from the main area

Educate staff to be more aware of patients’ need for confidential discussions

Investigate training for receptionists on how to use voice without necessarily speaking loudly.

4. Helpfulness of receptionists

Again the majority of respondents felt that receptionists were very helpful, however a significant percentage stated that receptionists were ‘fairly’ helpful.

Investigate this further as it is not clear in which way the receptionist failed to be ‘very’ helpful; is this actual unhelpfulness, perception due to tone of voice or body language? The results of this would assist targeting training appropriately

Instigate refresher training; reminding staff of procedures and protocols to ensure efficiency when dealing with patients.

5. Waiting to be seen

The practice was pleased with this aspect of the survey. We work towards being as prompt as possible and, whilst not perfect, were delighted that the majority of respondents felt they did not have to wait more than 5-10 minutes and most patients did not feel that they had to wait too long. That being said, we would not wish to be complacent and will continue to try to maintain punctuality as far as possible.

Publication of Report and Plan

The report will be published, along with the action plan, on the practice website, within the practice itself and copies will be available at reception.

OPENING HOURS AND ACCESS TO CLINCIANS

Surgeries

General opening hours: Monday – Friday 08:30 – 17:30; the surgery does not close at lunchtime

General enquiries, prescription requests and appointments may be made during general opening times either by visiting reception, by telephone or via our website www.rowdensurgery.co.uk

General enquiries: 01249 444343

Appointments: 01249 444808

Emergencies

The surgery telephone lines are open from 0800 – 1830 and a duty doctor on hand for emergencies; telephone 01249 444343

Outside these hours, the Out-of-Hours service may be contacted on 0300 111 5717

MESSAGE FROM THE PRACTICE MANAGER

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our new Patient Reference Group for being willing to give of their time to help the surgery improve services. In particular, I was most grateful for all the additional comments sent along with responses to my enquiries.

A thank you also goes to all the patients who completed the survey, without which we would be moving forward without due guidance.